Elder Blood
by Macdutton
Summary: The Weasleys are ridiculed and treated like dirt in Britain because of their acceptance of muggle technology. However, Magical Britain does not represent the views of the whole world.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Standard stuff here, Macdutton does not own Harry Potter, it belongs to JK Rowling.

* * *

Pain. Suffering. These were the last things Arthur and Molly Weasley felt in life. But even these things are not the worst the world could offer them. No, the greatest of their pains was the knowledge that they couldn't protect their children.

Bellatrix Lestrange laughed between questions as she cruciated them, eventually becoming bored with their refusal to answer her. And as she had found out with the Longbottoms, torturing them to the point of insanity was not conducive to information gathering.

"I'm tired of this. Any more and they'll be too crazy to be useful. Just kill them and we'll get away before the Aurors arrive," she instructed the wizards accompanying her. Regardless of her disdain for the Blood Traitors that the Weasleys were, she had to respect the couples fighting ability. When their children were threatened the balding man had actually put up an impressive struggle, killing three of her lackeys before he was subdued again.

As she turned away to leave the circle of protective wards around the house, she heard the shouted words, and saw the green flashes that signalled they were finished. "Oh yes, and do make sure to grab the children. Wouldn't want to leave any loose ends, now would we?" The words held a sickening sweetness.

A strange voice, with an accent she didn't recognise answered her. "No, we would not." The words were cold, containing a controlled rage. As she began to turn, angry at the intrusion, she heard a thud. Completing the movement, she beheld a scene that shocked even her. A tall man in strange robes was stood, his arm outstretched, holding a sword. At his feet was the crumpled form of one of the two men to survive the confrontation with the Weasleys.

His head remained in the strangers hand, the blood from his severed neck dripping, his eyes still twitching.

Scrambling backwards, she withdrew her wand, pointing it at this murderous interloper and screaming a curse. The green beam shot towards him and she felt a sense of triumph. He would be easy to deal with; why, the fool didn't even have a wand.

Her happiness faded however, upon seeing him seemingly glide out of the path of her shot, dropping the head and pointing his sword at the other Death Eater, who was just now recovering from the shock of his comrades blood soaking his face. From the tip of the blade, a harsh blue light shot forth, crackling, to put a hole through the Death Eaters hastily erected shield. The lightning bolt continued on, burning a hole into his chest, causing him to convulse and begin to fall.

The swordsman slowly stepped back into a relaxed stance, simply looking at Bellatrix.

"What… what do you want here?" The haughty demand was meant to intimidate the man, remind him of whom he was dealing with. Unfortunately for Bellatrix, the fear was clear in her voice, and she knew the stranger would have heard it.

"I came in response to the wards on the Weasley Clan home being breached." The mans speech patterns were extremely careful and formal, as if English was not his first language. "Our clans have been bound for centuries. When one is attacked, a response must be given. Unfortunately it seems I underestimated the distance." He looked at the corpses, a sorrowful look crossing his face. "My apologies, Arthur-dono, my miscalculation cost you your life." His gaze returned to the woman before him. "My honour is in question. Your life will go some way to rectifying that."

Without another word, he seemed almost to blur forwards, the blade in his hand swinging almost lazily forwards, trailing sparks. Bellatrix fell out of the way just in time to avoid a burst of that same, crackling blue electricity that had killed her minion.

Even though she had avoided the initial attack, her respite was short lived. Looking up, she saw the blade descend once again, this time cutting cleanly through her right wrist. The hand, as well as the wand clutched in it fell to the ground as blood spurted from the wound.

She looked dumbly at the stump of her arm, not quite comprehending what had happened. Again, she looked at this strange swordsman. "The Dark Lord will return. We will find him, and he will destroy all of you who protect Blood Traitors." Her fanatical speech was deceivingly calm, measured.

The stranger looked at her almost pityingly. "Voldemort could not even take over this country. Were he to attack any of my people, he would face the wrath of the Emperor. Do you truly believe any could stand before the wielder of Kusanagi?" The fervour in her eyes was answer enough and he sighed quietly. "You show loyal to your master until the end. At least you have some honour left."

With the last word, he drove the curved blade deep into her chest, cutting through her heart, severing all the way across and out of the side of her torso for good measure.

Turning away from the dying woman he cleaned the blood from the weapon, planting it into the ground next to Arthur Weasleys head before kneeling beside the dead man. Bowing, he mumbled in a foreign language, seemingly praying, until a small sound from the house drew his attention. Looking towards the door, he saw a small, red haired head duck out of view.

"Please, come out. The ones who attacked are no longer a threat," he called, wishing for all the world that he had been quicker, had been better prepared. Seven children slowly made their way out from the house, the eldest carrying two babies, the second child holding the hands of twin toddlers, the final child hiding behind his elder brothers. They eyed this stranger warily, Bill knowing what must have happened for this man to be alone, soaked in blood amongst the dead bodies.

"I am sorry," he said, addressing the two eldest boys. "I was not in time to save your parents. But now I bear the responsibility of adopting you into the Clan."

"Why?" Bill asked. The simple question cut into the man, the loss of his friend cutting deep as he realised he would have to explain.

"You are the last of the Weasleys. By the binding of our clans, I must protect you until you come of age. To do that, we will need to leave here and return to my home. To the only family you have left." By this point he was struggling to speak, the weight of his failure like the hand of a god pressing down on his shoulders.

"Where's that?"

"Tokyo." The word was forced from him as he struggled to hold himself together. Just then, a soft pop could be heard nearby, causing him to jerk his head up and grasp his sword, sliding upright into a fighting stance.

Seeing who had just apparated though, he simply fell back to his knees.

As the beautiful young woman took in the scene, her face became horrified. "No. You were too late?" The question was rhetorical. She could _see_ that it was so.

The man simply looked down, his shame unbearable. "Hai, nee-san."

"We should just have apparated straight here." She said angrily. "To Yomi with international relations, because of their _bureaucracy_," she hissed the word, "We were too late. Damn the consequences, we should go kill them now!"

"No, nee-san. We have other duties now." The man nodded towards the children, causing the young woman to look ashamed of her outburst.

"Of course." She walked over and knelt in front of Bill. "I am sorry for our failure. But we will protect you. Now come, William. We need to leave before this becomes a greater international incident."

"But who are you?" Bill asked, the question finally permeating through his numbed brain.

"I am Kagane Ayame, and that man is my twin brother, Kagane Hiroki. We are members of the Kagane Clan, and we are bound by blood and honour to the Weasley Clan. I can explain more about our clan once we are in a safe place, but the wards protecting this area are unravelling. We must leave." She held out her hand to the young boy, who looked into her eyes for a few seconds, before nodding.

"Okay."

With that, Hiroki arranged the bodies of Arthur and Molly into restful positions, closing their eyelids. Walking over, he took Charlie and Percy's hands, while Ayame held Bill close. Nodding at each other, they disapparated. For several minutes, a crushing pressure worked on the group as they moved halfway across the world.

Eventually, the pressure vanished and they appeared underneath a torii gate at the entrance to a garden, facing a large, beautifully crafted house. The single story structure spread out in front of them, the path to the main entrance paved in beautiful patterns, flanked by trees and flowers.

"Welcome to Japan, Weasleys."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Macdutton does not own Harry Potter, it belongs to JK Rowling.

* * *

"Time rolls ever on, does it not?"

"Yes, Kagane-sama."

The old man looked in amusement at the girl in front of him. "Now, now Ginny, no need to be like that. Let an old man have his senility."

The redheaded girl smiled slightly. Oh how she knew the irony of such a statement. The man in front of her was so very far from senile. Possibly bat-shit crazy, but certainly not senile.

"Yes, Kagane-sama."

The old man's eyebrow twitched. "As you may have realised, you turn eleven tomorrow. As we have done for your brothers before you, we will explain certain things to you about your past, things about your family that have been kept from you."

"Yes-"

A cup hit Ginny squarely on the forehead, causing her to fall over backwards. "That's child abuse you old coot," she grumbled as she sat up, rubbing her forehead.

"Possibly, but you're also incredibly annoying," he grinned back. Ginny's twin brother Ron just looked between them, torn as usual between annoyance, amusement and confusion. "Anyway, I want you two back in here at midday tomorrow. Now get out, I have drinking to do."

With that, the two young children left the small room where their adoptive grandfather spent much of his time. Stepping onto the covered walkway leading back to the main house, they passed over one of the many small pools that dotted the garden and Ginny smiled as she looked around at the sakura trees, blanketed in snow.

"So what are your plans for the rest of the day then Ron? Going to sit in your room and do nothing again?"

"Shut up."

"Come on, we can do something together for once. We could go out for a walk, play a game. Why don't we every spend time together anymore?" She knew that her wheedling tone annoyed her brother the most, since he had little defence against it.

"Because I don't like you."

"Finally! You actually came out and said it, I'm impressed ickle Ronny-kins." She did _so_ enjoy teasing her twin. "Is it because I'm better than you with weapons? Or because I'm prettier? Oh wait, is this about the flaming teddy thing?"

Ron's tightening fists and stiffening back were answer enough. Ginny dropped the mocking tone and became more serious. "You know I'm sorry about that, right? You know I can't control it that well." She received no answer aside from Ron walking slightly faster. "Oh… Oh. Is that it? You're jealous that I've shown more magic?" She couldn't believe this. "You're such a child Ron!"

"Of course I am! I'm ten!" He shouted, whirling to face her. He flinched however, when flames blossomed on her hands, singing the sleeves of her robe as she slipped smoothly backwards into a fighting stance, her hands coming up in front of her. He blinked, realising the precariousness of his current position. "Sorry Ginny, it's just…"

"You're ten," she smiled, relaxing, the flames dying down with seeming reluctance. "Still, I shouldn't tease you so much."

"Yeah," he mumbled. "So do you actually want to do something?"

"Well, I'd planned to try breaking into Bill's garage again but… yeah. Lets do something together for once," she smiled, happy that they seemed to be getting along for once.

* * *

The following day found them retracing their steps, walking back towards their grandfather's room. Knocking on the door frame, they were told to come in. Ron slid the door open and they walked in to be greeted by a somewhat unusual sight. Their grandfather, Kagane Shirakawa was sprawled on a cushion drinking, an ashtray nearby containing a cigar ready to be lit. This was not unusual. No, it was the two people flanking him, knelt in formal _seiza_ positions that were unusual.

"Ayame, Hiroki! You're back!" Ginny said happily, while Ron simply grinned. The two were often away attending to clan matters, so the young redheaded twins rarely saw them.

"Yes, yes, don't shout so much," Ayame said with a slightly pained expression. Ginny looked at her shrewdly, guessing the reason.

Speaking loudly, she decided to punish the older woman for forgetting to even call. "I'm so very sorry Ayame, I didn't realise you had a hangover. Maybe you should drink less." The older woman simply glared at her with bloodshot eyes.

"Now, now children, don't fight. I'm far too old for that. Ginny, Ron, sit down, we have things to talk about." Even if he was usually drunk, and rarely serious, everyone listened to Shirakawa, obeying his orders. He was, after all, head of the clan. Ron and Ginny sat before him, Ron kneeling in seiza, as custom dictated when meeting with one's elder. Ginny simply flopped onto the mats and lounged around, ignoring the renewed glares from Ayame and Hiroki, but noting the slightly amused glance from her grandfather.

"As I said yesterday, some things have been kept from you with regards to your family history. As you know, you are the last of the Weasley Clan, formerly a Great Clan, and a 'Noble and Most Ancient House' of Britain. They were a group of Celts who migrated a long way East from Scandinavia, settling in modern day Siberia, according to our chronicles. From there, they expanded to be present in much of Eastern Russia, as well as back into Europe. There were over a hundred families who all answered the call of clan Weasley. There would be only a few families in any one area, but their wide spread meant they held a lot of influence, and the money and learning brought back to their clan stronghold was notable.

"Unlike most Western wizards however, they were very accepting of muggle technology, embracing each new invention as it was discovered. In fact, our histories say they helped many new discoveries spread. This eventually led to the clan's problems, as many wizards of Europe and Western Asia refused to deal with them, given their pro-muggle and pro-technology leanings. Some of the more ignorant clans even attacked, but that often ended badly for the attackers, for reasons I will explain soon. Do you have any questions so far?"

"Yes, Kagane-sama." Shirakawa raised his empty sake cup threateningly before seeing Ginny's mischievous smile.

"Alright gaki, but make it quick before I change my mind," he grumbled, annoyed at having been played.

"Why do Western wizards dislike technology? They have plumbing and furniture don't they?"

"Yes they do. And they dislike technology because they are idiots. European societies like Britain, at least the magical portion, are very backwards and ignorant. Ironic really, given how much their muggle scientists and engineers have given the world. Any questions Ron?" The boy shook his head. "Alright then, the link between our clans. It was simple in the beginning. When the Weasleys expanded East, they eventually reached the coast. They heard about an island civilisation to the South, and some braved the seas. They reached Japan, and established a relationship with some of the local clans, trading knowledge and materials. Eventually, our clans came into contact. We agreed on many things, the representatives liked each other. The rest is history I suppose. Our clans became bound by blood and honour, sworn to help each other, however was necessary.

"Over the centuries, your clan dwindled, and the ignorance of their peers drove many into poverty, especially in Britain. Eventually, only a couple of families were left, one in Lancashire, England; one in Northern Scotland, near Aberdeen. Then finally it was just your parents and you. Your parents were killed by Death Eaters, followers of the overthrown _Dark Lord_," he said the title with disdain, plainly unimpressed with the man. "Ayame and Hiroki arrived and killed the remaining Death Eaters and brought you here. However, because of the political tensions between Britain and Japan, they were held up, and did not make it in time to save your parents.

"Now, you know the basic history so far. It does however, get a little more complex. Similar values and preferential trade were not the only things that brought our clans together." Shirakawa's gaze became unusually intent. Until now, even when discussing such important history, he had kept a calm, mild expression. Now however, he was notably grim. "Both of our clans have a link to something far older and more powerful than the so-called 'Blood of Merlin'. Unfortunately, with all the witch-hunts, pogroms and the secretive nature of clans who have this 'Elder Blood' little real information can be found as to it's origin. My studies lead me to believe that our magic evolved separately from the more common magical lineage, the 'Blood of Merlin'. I know of only three examples of modern wizards showing signs of this bloodline: We, the Kagane; the Weasleys; and a Saharan tribe. Others may exist but I know not where. I can speculate that some other magical races show signs of this Blood, but I cannot be sure.

"However, to return to the point. The unusual magical bloodline we call 'Elder Blood' is a form of elemental magic. It is very powerful, and thus wild, difficult to control." Ginny's face showed dawning comprehension. "It is usually one of five elements, but there appears to be sub-sets within these elements. For example, Hydrokinesis has several derived forms, including control of Ice and Mist." Shirakawa looked directly at Ginny before continuing, "Pyrokinesis is another broad term. The manipulation of fire is particularly rare, given its dangers. Ginny. I am aware of the incidents that occur around you. They would suggest that you are a Pyrokineticist, if it is indeed the Elder Blood surfacing. Over the next months, I will begin training you myself." He tuned to Ron, "Ron, I am unaware of any overt signs of elemental powers from you, but that is not uncommon. Indeed, your brother Charlie showed no signs of Elder Blood until we discovered his… resilience. If you discover anything unusual, you must tell one of us immediately. Elemental magic can be dangerous."

Both children just nodded dumbly.

"Ah, this has been far too serious," Shirakawa said, returning to his usual jovial nature. "Anyone would think we were discussing business! So onto more fun things." Reaching behind him, the old man took the two wrapped objects held out by Ayame and Hiroki. Placing them in front of him, he motioned the redheaded twins closer. "These are for you. Ron, you have shown a moderate aptitude for short blades, but no natural ability with anything else," he held out a curved object wrapped in silk, roughly 45cm long. Taking it, Ron drew off the silk, revealing a wakizashi, a shortsword. It felt… strange in his hand, as if it was a part of him, and in uniting, power flowed between them.

"No doubt it feels strange. Given the need for a more practical way to channel magic, we long ago learned to make our weapon the focus for our power." Ron looked amazed, realising what he held. "You will have seen that few wizards here carry wands. This is the focus of our magical power." Shirakawa drew a tanto from his obi, placing it in front of him. "People generally choose their focus to be the weapon they are comfortable with. I hope you agree with my suggestion."

"Yes, thank you Kagane-sama," Ron said, still slightly shocked to be given something so important and expensive.

"Now, Ginny, this will be yours." To Ginny, he held out a much longer object, roughly 2m long. Already knowing what it was, Ginny took the weapon and smoothly drew the silk halfway off, revealing a naginata. It had a 45cm curved blade, covered with a red oak saya and a 1.6m shaft of red oak, ending with a sharp cap of bronze.

"It isn't exactly subtle," she commented, drawing hastily stifled snorts from Ayame and Hiroki. "It might be a little difficult to carry around town." The more sensible question actually caused Shirakawa to smile.

"True. That is why the first thing I will be teaching you is how to conceal it from muggle eyes. Ron," he said turning back, "You will be studying with Ayame from now on. As you may know, she is skilled with a wakizashi, and is an excellent mage. She can begin to teach you the basics of magic. Now go familiarise yourselves with your new foci. Your journey as magi has begun." The twins began to go. "Oh, hang on. Ginny, I'll want you to meet me at dawn tomorrow to begin your training."

Ginny groaned at the idea of having to get up so early. "This better be worth it you old coot."

"It will. Now get out you disrespectful little brat!"

* * *

Once the young twins had left, other discussions began. "Did anything interesting happen at court?" Shirakawa asked, not bothering to turn around.

"Of course not. They bitched and whined, pretended to like each other, a couple of the younger idiots duelled." Ayame was as obvious in her disdain for the representatives of the clans as ever.

"Actually, I heard some interesting rumours. Apparently, a representative from Britain was expelled from the country. Offended the Emperor somehow," Hiroki countered.

"Oh? Tensions are continuing to rise then… Interesting." Shirakawa slowly replaced his tanto into its sheath in his obi. "I want you two to check up on businesses here. Something isn't right in the books, but I'm not sure what."

"You want us to just go poking around? And how do you know something's up?"

"An old man's intuition. Things just aren't adding up quite right. The money is all where it is supposed to be, but something still feels… off. So look into it." With that, the man stood and left, disapparating just outside the room.

Later that day, Ginny could be found doing kata with her new naginata. Although it was too long and heavy for her now, she would grow into it. As she moved, stepping, thrusting, twirling and slashing, she allowed her thoughts to wander to her eldest brothers. Bill had gone to Kyoto to work for the goblin bank there, and had been sent off to somewhere in China. That was almost a year ago, since he started working not a month after he left Hogwarts. Hopefully he would get some time off soon. She'd only had a couple of phone calls in the months he'd been away.

Charlie wasn't much better. He was in his final year at Hogwarts, and he hadn't had time to visit over winter, since he had needed to study for his NEWTs. Ginny wondered idly whether she would see him before summer, or if she would be stuck with Ron until Fred and George came back again.

Her movements became faster and more fluid as she stopped thinking, becoming lost in her training. Because of the depth of her concentration, she did not notice the flicker of flames that followed the blade of her naginata, melting the snow and scorching the flagstones of the courtyard.

"Ginny." She whirled around, her blade arcing around towards the voice until she realised she was about to decapitate her grandfather. Stopping and withdrawing her weapon, she bowed in apology. "It seems we will need to start your training a little sooner than planned." Ginny simply looked confused at this. "Look behind you."

Ginny did as directed, seeing the melted snow and scorched ground. "It's going to be a long few months girl. I hope you are ready."

* * *

A/N: Okay, so soon we will be seeing some Hogwarts action, although you should be prepared for rather massive time skips.


	3. Sorting

Disclaimer: Macdutton does not own Harry Potter, it belongs to J K Rowling.

* * *

"Remind me why we couldn't go straight to Hogwarts? Waiting for a train is so boring. And the ones over here are _so slow!_"

"God you're whiny today."

"Yeah, well, this is the first day I've seen you in a year. A year Bill! That's a lot of whining to catch up on," Ginny said with an impish grin.

"Such is life Gin. At least you'll get to see some of the world. And you'll enjoy Hogwarts. Or at least, you should. That is, if you aren't just a whiny self-centred brat." The grin on Bill Weasley's face as he said that was the equal to his sister's. It vanished quickly when an elbow dug sharply into his side.

"When did you get so violent?" He asked, rubbing his side.

Ginny's simply looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Point taken," Bill grumbled. "Anyway," he said, raising his voice a little so his younger brothers would all hear as well, "We need to move or you'll miss the train, and I really can't be bothered to take you to Hogsmeade myself. Everybody got everything?"

A series of nods sufficed, although Fred or George, to this day he couldn't tell them apart, muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "No, just thought we'd leave all our stuff at home and get it mailed through in a week or so," which Bill ignored. If they wanted to be sarcastic little gits, let them.

The small family continued to walk towards the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, garnering some odd looks. After all, it wasn't every day you saw a group of redheads in strange looking robes dragging large trunks. Bill looked at the clock and saw that they had about twenty minutes to go, so he stopped at a stand and bought some drinks, gaining more than a few looks because of his, to the muggles of London at least, odd clothing and accent.

Once he had distributed the bottles they all nonchalantly walked through the barrier between the platforms, emerging onto Platform 9¾ to see a large steam engine starting to billow white clouds.

"They seriously use that? A steam engine?" Ginny asked incredulously. "Do they not realise the damage coal does? Haven't they worked out that newer trains are faster?" The sheer stupidity of it was really getting to her.

"Welcome to Britain Gin," Bill said, the disdain clear in his voice. "Now piss off so I can get home and spend my wages on some wine and women." He made shooing motions to hurry them along. Fred and George immediately made a beeline for some third years they obviously knew, while Percy walked towards the front of the train and the prefects' carriage. Ron quietly walked to the nearest compartment, while Ginny didn't move from Bill's side.

"I'm really going to miss you," she said quietly, barely audible over the buzz of chatter on the platform.

Not looking at her, Bill replied equally quietly, "I'll miss you too Gin. I'm sorry I didn't call much while I was working, but chances to get to a phone were pretty scarce."

"Promise me you'll write to me this year?"

"Of course. Even if it's a completely absurd way to communicate."

Ginny turned around and hugged her brother tightly, not caring that his sword hilt was digging into her.

"Alright, you need to get going Gin. Try not to start too many fires," he grinned, earning himself a swift headbutt to the solar plexus. Then her grip tightened for a second before she let go and walked away. As she reached the carriage door, she turned her head slightly, pausing with one foot in the train.

"You'd better be home in December," she called over her shoulder before disappearing inside. Bill stood for a few moments, staring after her.

"You can count on it Gin," he mumbled to himself.

A while later, as the locomotive was passing North towards Hogwarts, Ginny sat in a carriage with a few older Slytherins, who were completely happy to ignore her after throwing a few curious glances at her naginata.

Ginny was staring out of the window, wondering what Hogwarts would _really_ be like. Sure, she'd had her brothers tell her about it, but no two people ever saw things the same way. Except maybe for Fred and George, but they were just weird.

While Ginny continued to watch the passing scenery, the compartment door opened again and the other occupants of the carriage stopped their conversation. Still, Ginny just looked out of the window, uninterested in whoever had opened the door.

"Well, well, I've been wondering if I'd run across you. Red hair, strange clothes… It appears we have another weasel at Hogwarts," a voice sneered from the doorway. Finally, Ginny looked around, a faint smile on her face.

"How very witty. Did you make a funny?" She asked the white-blond boy who was obviously the one who had spoken. The tone was what you would expect to use when talking to a very small child, a tone that obviously affronted the blond boy.

"Who do you think you're talking to you Blood-Traitor wench?" The blond boy demanded, incensed at this lack of respect. He was a Malfoy damn it!

Before he could think, before he could even register the movement, there was a shining blade resting against his throat. Terrified, he froze up completely, realising how precarious this situation was and regretting having spoken so prematurely. He should have learned what he could about the girl before insulting her.

Behind him and to either side, his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, were similarly dumbstruck. Neither of _them_ had seen the girl grab that sword-pole-thing either.

As the blood drained from Malfoy's face, he began to sweat under the burning gaze of the small redheaded girl who held a strange bladed staff to his throat. "Perhaps we could go back a few moments, and you could take this away from my person," he tried to sound condescending and superior as usual while reaching for his wand. The tone failed, but he had just touched the handle when the blade pressed tighter against his jugular.

"I think I like my naginata where it is. Now why don't you stop reaching for your wand and apologise for your slight against my clan." Ginny's smile was still only faint, but held a promise of violence and pain, should one go against her. Malfoy simply stared, his hands falling limp at his sides.

"You don't have a clan. The Weasleys are barely even a Noble House. Why should I, Draco, of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Malfoy, apologise to _you_?" Even in such a situation, the deeply ingrained superiority caused him to sneer arrogantly.

Again, Draco didn't even see the movement as she moved forwards, pushing him against the corridor outside and pressing the blade tightly into his neck, drawing a trickle of blood. "Dear, dear, didn't your father ever teach you not to insult those more powerful than you?" The smile she gave now was so large and bright, it looked as though it could melt steel. "Or was he too busy behind you?"

As the words sunk in, Malfoy was shocked. Had she just claimed to be more powerful than _he_, Draco Malfoy? And then had she gone on to imply… to imply…

"How dare you? You worthless harlot! Crabbe, Goyle, get her!" He screeched, so angry he forgot there was a large blade at his throat.

He remembered when she whipped it away, smashing the blunt side into Crabbe's neck, causing him to drop, while her foot licked out behind her and caused Goyle to reel back, blood pouring from his nose. Returning her gaze to Malfoy, she smiled again, this time in a more measured fashion.

"How about we start again then," she said, enjoying Malfoy's terrified stare. "My name is Ginny Weasley. Who are you?"

"Uuuhhh…"

"How eloquent. Would you like to try again? Or is that your name?" The smile was now a million watt grin.

"D-Draco Malfoy. I'm Draco Malfoy."

"See? Now wasn't that much more pleasant?" Malfoy simply nodded dumbly, terrified of this… girl.

"I'm guessing those were your… what would you call them? Attendants? Bodyguards? Hmm. Well if they're the second one they're not very good are they? Now why don't we go find a compartment and get to know each other a little better, so something this irritating doesn't happen again?"

As she walked away, Draco simply followed, realising that disobeying this girl would be a terrible, terrible idea for him.

The first years stood in a line across the hall as Professor McGonagall called their names when it was their time to sit beneath the Sorting Hat. Most were shivering, still damp from the trip across the lake, as well as nervous at being watched by so many people.

"Abbott, Hannah." Professor McGonagall called, looking up sternly from her parchment as the trembling young girl began to walk forwards. Hannah reached the stool and sat, McGonagall placing the Hat on his head.

After a few seconds the Hat called out, **"HUFFLEPUFF!"** The announcement was met with cheers from one table and a few boos from the side where the Slytherins sat. A murderous look from McGonagall quelled all noise from the Slytherin side of the hall, many of them shrinking back as if struck physically.

And so the sorting continued, name after name being called, the children walking forward to have the Hat placed on their heads. The Hat shouted out its decision and the child would go to sit at that table. The whole process went fairly smoothly, with the amusing exception of a boy called Neville running off to the Hufflepuff table with the hat still on his head.

So far it was set to be a quick sorting, with nobody taking more than a minute under the brim of the Hat, but it was too good to last. As McGonagall reached the tail end of the list, she called out a name.

"Weasley, Ginevra."

Ginny walked slowly forwards, continuing to ignore the mutters of people staring at her naginata and robes. Sitting on the stool, her hand carefully sliding down the shaft of her naginata to keep it vertical, she allowed the Sorting Hat to be placed onto her head, wondering about the power of the hat, and how it worked. Was it sentient? Did it count as a person?

_"No, I don't count as a person so shut up about that. We are not going to rip off a much better fiction just because it amused the author when he read it."_

'Errm, what? What the hell are you on about?' Ginny asked, completely confused.

_"Nothing, now shut up so I can do my job."_

'You're not very nice, are you?'

_"Shut up. I'm sick of listening to you all complain. You go where I say, and that's final!"_ Having a hat shout inside your head was a strange experience, so Ginny decided to listen to it and be quiet.

_"Good, now let's have a look here… plenty of bravery, lots of cunning, impressive sadistic streak… Hmm. I'd say you're an ideal Slytherin. There have been too few _true_ Slytherins in the last couple of decades. You could probably take over the idiots there now in a matter of days. Oh, and when we're done here, tell _dear _Albus that he's _still_ an impudent youngster and I still want him to get off my damn lawn."_ As the Hat said this, Ginny had a strange image of a large turtle on a beach, it's mouth open as though shouting.

**"SLYTHERIN!"**

The applause from the Slytherin table was half-hearted, as most students still didn't know what to think of this girl who dressed so strangely and carried a polearm.

As she took off the hat, Ginny turned around to face the Headmaster, calmly looking him in the eye before saying, "Albus, you're still an impudent youngster, and the Hat wants you off its damn lawn." As she turned away, she caught, out of the corner of her eye, Severus Snape sputtering into his wine goblet, while Dumbledore simply looked surprised, and slightly amused.

Walking towards the Slytherin table, Ginny approached Malfoy, and after a pointed look, Crabbe quickly moved to make room for her. Taking the seat, she looked to Malfoy, smiling, before saying, "Well wasn't that fun?"

Draco Malfoy simply gulped in fear.

Just then, the sorting hat shouted out, **"GRYFFINDOR!"**

Ronald Weasley moved towards the far side of the hall, sending a forlorn glance at Ginny, which she returned with a condescending look. Seeing this, he turned his back and strode to a seat. "Baby," Ginny muttered.

Shortly afterwards, the sorting was finished, and the Headmaster stood up.

"And so another year begins. There are times for making speeches. And then there are times," Dumbledore pointed his wand at himself before transforming into an enormous turtle, "TO GET OFF MY DAMN LAWN!" The turtle yelled, before promptly turning back into a man. Dumbledore then sat down and began eating from the food that had just magically appeared as if nothing had happened.

Ginny simply looked blankly at him, before looking around at her fellow students. "Is that, ah… usual, for the Headmaster?" she asked.

A prefect gave her a pained look. "That's pretty weird even for him."

"Well. I can already tell coming here was a _brilliant_ idea," Ginny said, only a faint tinge of sarcasm present. "What next? Our dorms are in the dungeons?"

Seeing the looks on everyone's faces, she simply put her face in her hands and sighed, "You've got to be kidding me."

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A/N: So, arrival at Hogwarts, sorting and such. Hopefully you find it bearable. This wasn't actually my first version for Gin's sorting, but maybe I'll post the original idea as an omake or something. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. There may be some major time-skips soon, so don't expect me to cover much of first year.


	4. Beginnings

**Disclaimer: Macdutton does not own Harry Potter, it belongs to JK Rowling.**

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"Okay, the windows are, I'll admit, pretty cool. But our dorms are in a dungeon. Underground. We live in a dungeon. IS NOBODY ELSE BOTHERED BY THIS?" Ginny was nearly hysterical by this point, and she was getting a lot of strange looks from her fellow Slytherins. "And what's with all this creepy furniture and green light? Have you people never heard of interior decorators? This place looks like a freaking crypt."

"Are you quite done, Miss Weasley?" The sibilant voice issued from the corner of the common room. The gathered students all looked towards the source of the voice, and all noise in the room stopped as they realised their Head of House was there.

"For the minute. I'm sure I'll come up with plenty more as I see the rest of the place." The sassy reply obviously did not please Snape, who stared at her as though trying to set her alight with just his gaze.

"Detention, Miss Weasley. Be at my office tomorrow at 7pm."

The quiet anger in his voice seemed not to affect the redhead, who merely smiled swept him a deep bow, replying, "Of course Professor Snape," before leaving in the direction she had been told the first year girls' dormitory was. Snape strode off into the hallway shortly after Ginny's robes disappeared around the corner of the stairs.

"What just happened?" A sixth year prefect asked, a shocked look on her face.

"So, what have we got first, Drakey?"

Draco Malfoy gritted his teeth at the falsely sweet tone the red haired girl used, promising himself he would get his own back… one day. But until then, she scared the living shit out of him. "Herbology with Sprout. In Greenhouse 1, I think."

"Careful there Drakey, you wouldn't want to strain something," Ginny said, still in that sweet voice. "Herbology though, that sounds quite interesting." The words had lost the sweet tone, becoming contemplative.

"Hey Daphne, what do you know about Herbology?" She asked the girl sat next to her.

"Not much, except that plants can be really dangerous and that Professor Sprout is supposed to be nice." The reply was delivered with a hint of hesitation. She still remembered the previous night, and was plainly wary of anybody who would face the ire of their Head of House with a smile.

"That doesn't sound too bad then. Does anybody know how to get to the greenhouse? I don't remember being given a map or anything." Ginny suddenly looked pensive. "Actually, have we been told where anything is?"

"Well a map wouldn't be that useful would it?" Daphne told her scornfully. "This is Hogwarts."

"And that means…" Ginny encouraged, not understanding the comment.

"The layout of Hogwarts changes on a regular basis, or so we've been told. You know, new doors appearing, old ones moving, staircases that turn around, bits of wall that just pretend to be a door. That kind of thing." Draco told her, carefully keeping the condescension out of his voice. "A map would be out of date by the time it had been finished."

Ginny sighed. "I can just _tell_ that this year is going to be _fantastic_."

A few hours later a group of disgruntled, tired and dung-scented students were traipsing back into the castle. It turned out that Herbology was a class where two houses were taught together, in this case the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs.

"That was the most vile, disgusting and degrading class I can imagine," Pansy Parkinson announced to the Slytherins she was walking with. "I cannot believe they had us _weeding_. That's _servant work_!" She was almost screeching by the end of her little tirade. "And you, Weasley, why did you seem to enjoy it so much? What kind of low born filth are you?"

Ginny looked at her with a blank expression. Quietly, she glanced at Malfoy before asking, "Did she really just say that?" Receiving a pained nod, she looked down and thought for a few seconds. Suddenly, her naginata, which had been negligently held in her left hand was pinning Pansy to the wall, while flames licked at Ginny's hands.

"Listen here you ignorant puffed up tramp. I am Ginevra of Clan Weasley, and if you ever question my birth again, I'll burn everything you love." Her eyes bored into Pansy's, causing the dark haired girl's knees to buckle, leaving her held up by the weapon at her throat. All of a sudden, Ginny let go and stepped back, dropping Pansy to the floor. "Now we've cleared that up," she continued brightly, "I enjoyed it because I like plants. Besides," she smiled, and for once it was an honest smile, "it's relaxing.

**Later**

"So, may I ask what that was about?" Malfoy asked carefully.

"Hmm? What was what about?" Ginny asked, not looking up from her homework.

"The whole, 'I'll burn everything you love' thing that nearly made Pansy have a heart attack. Then talking about how getting attacked by evil plants is 'relaxing'."

"She was more likely to have a cerebral haemorrhage." Ginny told him, still not looking up from her parchment.

"Oh, that explains- what?" Draco looked very confused. He was not liking this. He didn't get confused by people. He'd been trained since he could speak to control people and understand what they were after. Being confused was completely new to him.

"If you can cause enough stress and fear in someone, you can cause a blood vessel in their brain to burst. That's more likely than a heart attack in Pansy's case since cardiac arrest in an eleven year old is unlikely."

Draco simply sat stunned for a moment. He got the gist of what she was saying but… "What do you mean there are vessels in someone's brain?"

Ginny finally looked up, surprised. "What do you mean 'what do I mean?' I mean that there are veins and arteries. Like everywhere in your body."

"But people don't have veins in their brain. That's crazy!" Draco told her.

Ginny simply gaped. This was absurd, didn't this boy know anything about biology? "Draco, the vascular system goes everywhere in the body. Every body part needs blood, especially the brain. Blood carries oxygen and all the other important things you need to live. Didn't you do anything about that at primary school?"

"But… wait, what's a primary school?"

Ginny was simply bowled over. How could British wizards be this stupid? "Do you mean you don't know anything about how the body works? Any kind of science?"

"Of course not," Draco sounded disgusted. "That's _muggle_ stuff."

"You're telling me that the whole of the last several centuries of medical science has passed you by? You don't know about engineering breakthroughs? You mean to tell me that wizards in this country are still living in the _Dark Ages_?"

"Of course not!" Draco's vehement reply made Ginny relax. She knew that nobody could be _that_ stupid. "We don't need those muggle tricks! We have magic!"

Ginny just stared, dumbfounded at Draco's smug expression for a while. Gathering herself, she slowly said, "Draco, where I come from wizards have embraced muggle society and technology. There are things surgery can heal that magic couldn't even begin to help. Aeroplanes can carry hundreds of people faster than a broom can fly, fibre optic cables can carry huge amounts of information almost instantly. Wizards use technology every day in Japan, all over Asia. How do you people live without it? How do you get by without mobile phones, modern vision correction? How do you live if you refuse to use technology?"

"Muggles can't do that. You're lying."

Ginny was completely blown away. Bill and Charlie had told her that British wizards were stupid. That they were backwards and ignorant, but this was just absurd. If what she had seen was right, they had never moved past the 14th or 15th century.

Realising this, Ginny simply got up and walked out of the common room into the corridor, leaving her homework and bag on the floor near one of the sofas.

Eventually, her wandering brought her to the higher reaches of the castle where she stepped through a doorway, finding a large courtyard open to the sky, walled with blank stone on three sides. Around the edges were various plants, with many creeping vines growing up the walls.

From behind she heard a voice she recognised. "Wondered how long it'd take you to find this place Gin." Over in the corner, under an overhang, Fred was leaning against a wall, smiling at her. Next to him, George was lying on the floor. Both looked sweaty and out of breath.

"Is this the place Bill and Charlie told me about?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah. We were just doing some training before going back to the tower." Fred looked at his little sister closely. "You okay Gin? You look off."

"It's just… I found out Bill and Charlie were right. Wizards here really are idiots."

"Gin, you have no idea," George called over from his place on the floor. "It seems like they get less intelligent every day. Or it could just be that they get further behind every day. Either way, it's still depressing."

"Don't worry. You get used to it after a while. And it's not like they deserve our help in moving forward. If they want to stop being morons, they'll have to come begging." Fred told her darkly.

Ginny sighed. "Guess I'll just have to start teaching them about technology."

"Did you listen to me?"

"Yes," she grinned evilly, "but I didn't mean by telling them. I thought we could… demonstrate the uses of technology." At this, Fred and George both gained identical evil grins.

"Oh sister dear, you come up with the best ideas," they said in unison.

Snape looked exhausted. "Miss Weasley, this has become simply absurd. Forty seven. You have been sent to my office _forty seven_ times in the past four days. I don't think we have ever seen such a spree of misbehaviour. While no incident is serious enough to earn you anything more than detention, the sheer number is getting beyond what I can ignore. Especially since you have begun pranking your Professors."

Ginny simply looked at her Head of House with a smile on her face. "But Professor, I haven't done anything. Or have you got proof for something now?"

"Miss Weasley, if I had proof I'm sure it would vanish quickly enough. The results of _somebody's_ antics have certainly been amusing enough to warrant such action."

Ginny was surprised. "You actually understood them enough to laugh at them?"

"Miss Weasley, not all wizards are pure-bloods. I was raised in a muggle town and have kept up to date with goings on since coming to Hogwarts. Please do not assume all of Magical Britain is so ignorant." Professor Snape gave the girl an irritated look. "And I would prefer it if you stopped interfering with my personal effects and classes."

"Of course Professor."

**Flashback**

Snape stood up at breakfast and looked positively thunderous. "Whoever put _this_," he brandished the bottle of 2in1 shampoo and conditioner, "in my pigeonhole will be dealt with _most_ harshly. And such a note will not fool anyone."

"Ventriloquo," Fred whispered. He was stood in the Charms classroom, while George kept an invisibility charm cast on him from the window. As Professor Flitwick opened his mouth to explain how to perform the hover charm, Fred said loudly, "Use the Force, Luke!"

An owl fluttered into the Great Hall during lunch, dropping a package in front of Professor Quirrel. Upon opening it, the Professor held up a red shirt with an odd badge on the left breast. Most of the hall looked bemused, although many muggleborns were stifling giggles.

Professor Dumbledore was about to sit down when a loud bang was heard, and orange paint covered him from head to waist. The remnants of a paint grenade sat in the shadow of a bowl on the table in front of him.

Several students were walking through the Entrance hall when they slipped and fell. There was a clear, slippery substance on the floor, with a sign next to it saying, "Brought to you by Durex."

Professor Flitwick walked around for hours, wondering why students were giving him funny looks, and many of the muggleborns were giggling at the sight of him. He was not aware he was green with pointed ears.

Several first years had to be taken to the hospital wing because they were "Seeing music," and "Hearing colours."

**Flashback End**

"I must ask though, do you think that the culprit of these transgressions against school rules can continue at this rate?" Snape asked, careful of his words.

"Probably not sir, they've got to be running pretty low on material. At least in this vein. Although illegally importing magical creatures for Hagrid is still a possibility. And there are _so many_ mind altering substances that aren't _that_ hard to synthesise. But the culprit is probably going to have to slow down. At least for a while." Ginny replied with equal care.

"Good. Dismissed, Miss Weasley. And the unfair detentions I was required to level at you are hereby rescinded due to a lack of evidence."

"Thank you Mr Spock."

Snape simply glared at her as she backed out of the room, grinning from ear to ear.

Months later, Ginny was sat with Draco, Daphne, Crabbe and Goyle in the library when they heard Potter muttering conspiratorially to Hermione and Ron. Ginny motioned the others to be quiet while they listened in.

"So we need to get into the Third Floor Corridor and stop Snape before he gets away with the stone." Harry told them, obviously not looking for any input, just blind agreement.

"But Dumbledore would never let Snape do that. He's too good." Hermione rebuffed.

Harry and Ron told her to be quiet, seemingly too far gone in their obsessions to listen to what was actually quite a sensible argument. As the Slytherins listened, it became obvious that the girl would just give up and go along with whatever the two boys said.

Stealing their way out of the library, the Slytherins hurried to inform Professor Snape of their findings. He thanked them, then told them to get the hell out of his office and, "Under no circumstances are you to become involved further in these events."

Once the small group had left his office, four sets of eyes turned to Ginny who just looked innocent. "What guys? Why are you looking at me?" The looks simply continued. "Alright, alright, I won't do anything. I'll even stay with you guys." She then walked away, muttering, "Bunch of boring bastards."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I'm really not happy at all with this chapter, but after multiple rewrites, it ain't coming out any better. It does the job I need it to do though, so it's going up. Feedback would be helpful.**


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